


Stars Above

by clotpoleofthelord (plantainleaf)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-30
Updated: 2013-08-30
Packaged: 2017-12-25 02:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/947396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plantainleaf/pseuds/clotpoleofthelord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes Jody doesn't know if anyone gets it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stars Above

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Lily for the beautiful beta job as always :)

Every few weeks, the Winchesters (all three, now that Cas has a human identity as Castiel Robert Winchester) have a get-together of all their found family at the Bunker.

There’s Charlie and Gilda, who visits from the Faerie Realm. Garth usually shows, unless he’s on a case or training a new crew of hunters for his network. Krissy and Aiden and Josephine sometimes stop by, though they always make sure to say they were just “in the neighborhood,” as if there were things actually in the neighborhood of Lebanon, Kansas to be on your way to or from. Linda and Kevin are always there, usually spending the night. 

Jody looks forward to these events, because there’s only so long she can spend pretending she hasn’t faced down creatures from Heaven, Hell, and everywhere inbetween. Sometimes it’s important to spend time with other people who know that the shoplifters and joyriders she spends her time hunting most days aren’t the worst things out there.

Today’s a special occasion, though. It’s Kevin’s birthday, his twenty-first, and there’s going to be a cake and presents and maybe even singing. _He deserves it_ , thinks Jody as she parks her car in the area of the forest the Winchesters cleared for parking. _Kid’s had a rough couple years._ She pulls the wrapped gift from the seat next to her and hefts her back over her shoulder. _Glad he’s got the boys, though._  

She smiles as she walks towards the door, thinking about the Winchesters when she’d met them at Bobby’s four years ( _God, has it only been four years?_ ) ago. They’d been alone, except for Bobby; three lonely, damaged souls finding family in each other. Glancing back at the nearly-full parking lot behind her, she shakes her head. _Look at them now,_ she thinks. _Taking in strays and building a community. Bobby would have been proud._

She knocks on the door and it swings open to reveal Sam’s smiling face. She has to crane her neck to see his face; she always forgets just how tall he is. He wraps her in a hug and she breathes in the smell of flannel and dust and safety, hugging him back then pulling away. He takes her bag, saying, “Hey, Jody. Glad you could make it.”

She grins at him. “Almost didn’t. Did you know there was a wendigo roaming South Dakota?”

He turns and stares at her, mouth dropping open. “ _What?_ ” 

She laughs. “I took care of it, don’t worry. Came across him while looking for a missing person in the Badlands.”

“You burnt it, right? Just shooting it’s not going to get rid of it.”

She rests a hand on his arm. “I know, Sam. I remember. Still got all those notes you boys made me, remember? I’ve been studying.” She starts down the hall again, towards her usual bedroom. “Would’ve called you, but I didn’t know he was there till he was right in my face. So I took care of it.”

Sam shakes his head, grinning. “We’ll make a hunter of you yet.”

“Sheriff,” a warm, deep voice says from the kitchen as they pass the door. “How is Sioux Falls?”

Jody starts to hold a hand out to Castiel, then changes her mind and wraps her arms around him in a quick hug. He stiffens for a moment then relaxes and tentatively rests a hand on her back then steps back, hands dropping to his sides. “They’re good,” she replies. “How are you adjusting? You’re hunting again, right?”

Castiel sighs, frustration showing through. “Yes. It’s far more difficult as a human.”

She laughs. “Welcome to the club.”

After she deposits her bag in her room, she wanders down the hallway to the library where everyone usually gathers. Sure enough, there’s Sam and Cas, with Dean, who stands to hug her as well, and Charlie and Gilda and Garth and the three kids. 

“Kevin and Linda are on their way,” Charlie calls. She’d elected herself chief party-planner, and no one had objected. She declared Kevin’s party a surprise party, so he’s got no idea there’s anything planned for him. _It’s not like he’s had a birthday since he met all of us that’s actually been a celebration,_ she thinks, remembering that last year he’d been on the run at this time and the year before he’d been trapped with the Leviathans _. We need to make this one a good one._ She forces her mind from the picture of Owen’s last birthday, swallowing the lump in her throat. _He’s going to have a good birthday._

She sets her present in the pile behind the couch and sits down beside Krissy and Josephine, quizzing them about their schoolwork, and laughing at their digs at Aiden and Krissy’s impressions of Dean and Garth. Garth, overhearing, just grins his dorky grin at them as Krissy rolls her eyes. 

“He’s a good guy, I guess,” she says, lowering her voice. “Total loser, but he’s gotten Josephine and Aiden out of a few tight spots.”

“Not you?” asks Jody, trying to hold in a smile. She can remember being that young, and that convinced of her own independence and self-sufficiency.

Krissy grins, shark-like. “Not me.”

That’s when there’s a knock on the door and Sam jumps up. “I got it. Remember, they come in and you all yell surprise when I count down from three.”

Krissy and Josephine exchange the ageless glances of teens too cool for what’s happening, but hop behind the couch. Aiden follows, and Dean tugs Castiel behind a bookcase. Jody smirks as ducks down behind a chair and watches Dean pull Cas just a little closer than one might expect from a ladies’ man like Dean. _If those two don’t figure themselves out soon, we’re gonna have to do something drastic._  

A few moments later, Sam brings in the Trans. Linda’s giving him odd glances as he blushes and when she turns to look around the room he raises a hand, lowering fingers in a gesture of _three, two, one_. 

Jody jumps out with the rest of them, yelling, “Surprise!”

 _They really should have known better_ , she thinks as a jet of holy water hits her in the face. _Linda Tran isn’t someone to mess around with._

\-----

The party is great, despite the damp beginnings. Linda apologizes once she realizes what’s happening, and Kevin starts laughing and can’t stop for at least five minutes, setting off Dean and Garth and Charlie as well. Even Krissy and Aiden are smiling, and Josephine is outright chucking. Gilda and Cas are exchanging looks of _what is happening with these humans_ , and Jody can’t help but giggle as Linda cracks a reluctant smile. Their eyes meet, and Jody shakes her head. “It’s fine, Linda. Really. You’re just defending your kid. And it’s pretty warm in here, anyway.” She hands Linda a beer. “Come on, let’s get these guys organized. I think Dean made cake.”

“I couldn’t miss that,” Linda confides. “That kid’s getting pretty good in the kitchen. He made cinnamon buns the other day.” She grins suddenly. “You should have seen that angel of his. Couldn’t get enough of them.”

Jody smiles back as Dean comes out of the kitchen with a cake covered in candles. She hasn’t spent much time around Linda, somehow; they know each other, of course they do, but they’ve never really had a chance to talk. Dean and Castiel are a pretty safe subject, though, so after they sing she gestures towards where Dean’s slicing the cake into squares, Castiel hovering at his shoulder and watching intently. “You think they’ll ever realize they’re pining for each other?”

Linda snorts. “Those two? Who knows. It might take something drastic, since they obviously aren’t going to get there otherwise.” She sighs. “I remember being like that.” She turns to look at Jody. “Have you ever been married?”

Jody nods, the lump back in her throat. “Yes. He, um. He passed away. It’s how I met Sam and Dean, actually.”

Linda’s eyes are understanding, kind. “Mine too. Ten years ago, actually.” She swallows and looks back at Kevin, who’s grinning at Dean as the pile of presents is pushed his way. “Kevin takes after him more than me. He was quiet, my Jeff. But he had a strength to him, too.” She sighs. “I remember when we met, he looked at me like that.” She gestures to where Dean’s leaning against the edge of the couch, eyes on Castiel, who’s examining the Xbox Kevin’s just opened and set aside. His eyes are soft, and there’s a fond smile on his face Jody’s never seen him aim at anyone but his brother and Castiel. Cas turns and smiles back, and Dean leans closer to murmur something to the angel, whose smile widens into almost a grin as their eyes lock and hold.

“I don’t know how Sam can stand it,” Jody confides. “I’d lose it if I had to live with them like this.”

Linda lets out a bark of laughter that Jody can’t help but echo with a grin.

\-----

The party’s winding down, Charlie and Gilda and Garth all off to bed and Krissy and Aiden and Josephine getting back on the road, but not before Josephine kisses Kevin on the cheek and whispers a _Happy Birthday_ in his ear. He stares at them as they turn the corner, mouth open in surprise, then grins and sets his presents down.

Dean and Cas are cleaning up, working around each other like a well-oiled machine, and Linda and Jody find themselves again together beside the couch, nothing to do. Jody sips her beer, glancing at Linda. There’s a buzz in her stomach, the feeling of a day well-spent combining with the warmth of a few beers and good conversation. Jody opens her mouth just as Linda turns to her and says, “I’ve been told the stars here are something to see. Would you like to join me?”

Jody shuts her mouth and nods, and Linda turns decisively, grabbing the mostly-full six-pack on the table and turning down weaving hallways until she reaches a ladder. She pulls herself up the first few rungs one-handed, then sets the beers on the floor above her. Jody follows her up, then through a small door and out onto a section of room that forms almost a balcony into the forest.

Linda was right. The stars out here are incredible, as bright and vivid as the night sky in her favorite parts of the Badlands. 

“I grew up in a place like this,” Linda says quietly, leaning on the railing and staring up at the stars. “It felt like you were the only person in the universe when you looked up at the sky.” She gives a sardonic smile, continuing, “and during the day, I felt like the only Asian in Ohio.” She picks up a beer, popping the cap off on the edge of the railing. “It was beautiful there, though.”

Jody reaches down for a beer as well, using the bottle opener on her keychain to pry off the lid. “I’m Sioux Falls born and raised.” She takes a deep gulp of beer, listening to the leaves rustling around them. They’re far enough from the town and the main roads that there’s no sound of cars, no crunch of gravel. The door behind them shuts out the noise of the people inside, and if it weren’t for the solid bunker roof beneath her feet she’d wonder if she’d imagined the rest of humanity, whether there’s anything at all beyond this square  of concrete and the woman beside her. “We used to go camping out in the Badlands, though.” She take a sip of her beer, and sighs. “My brother and I would drive out with just our sleeping bags and flashlights and firewood and sit out all night until the fire burned down to embers, just talking and watching the stars.” She shakes her head. “If I’d known then what I do now about what’s out there...”

Linda huffs a quiet laugh. “We would have done the same things, probably.” She sets the empty bottle down beside her and turns her glittering eyes on Jody. “Kids are dumb. Most of the time.” She sighs. “Jeff and I used to camp, too. Before Kevin was born. “ She smiles. “We even followed the Dead one summer. I don’t know if Kevin knows that.”

Jody looks at her companion, impressed, and Linda grins.

“I surprised our boys down there, too. They’re used to seeing us a certain way, I think.”

“Us?”

“The women they meet on cases. They see us as people to rescue, or as people to fight, or as potential lays or girlfriends or wives.” She picks up a second beer, tilting it to Jody and herself. “You and I, we’re different, to them. We keep them on their toes.” She sips. “Charlie, too.”

Jody nods, stretching and sitting down with her back to the wall. Linda follows. “When I met them, they saved me from–” she swallows, Owen’s face rising in her mind. “–from something I couldn’t defend myself against.”

Linda nods and Jody remembers hearing about the angels and the Leviathan and Sam and Dean and Kevin’s fight to save Linda from them.

“But that was back when Bobby was around. I don’t think you met him.”

Linda shakes her head. “I’ve heard stories, though. He sounds like a good man.”

“He was.” Jody sighs, remembering. “A very good man. And from what I’ve heard about John Winchester, Bobby was the closest to a father those boys had, really.” She feels Linda suck in a breath next to her, and knows Linda’s heard the same stories she has from Sam and from Dean and from Castiel, if not the ones Jody knows from Bobby. “Anyway. They couldn’t leave me behind the way they do most people they help.” She takes a long pull of her beer, closing her eyes. “So here I am.”

“Here we are.” Linda’s close, closer than Jody remembers, and she opens her eyes to find Linda’s dark ones so close to her own. “Do you regret it?”

Jody can’t tear herself away from that gaze. “Do I– no. I wish the things that brought me into this world hadn’t happened. I wish my husband and son–” she swallows. “But no. Knowing everything that’s happening, understanding what’s really going on in the world? That’s not a bad thing. And–” she smiles, feeling almost shy ( _and what the hell is that about,_ she wonders, _I’m forty years old_ ), “and I wouldn’t have met the boys, or any of you. And that– well, my life is better for having this–” she’s not sure why she’s struggling so much with words, except that Linda’s warm and close and she can feel the other woman’s breath against her cheek, “–this family that we’ve built around Dean and Sam and all of us.”

There’s a moment of silence between them then, a tangible thing that builds and builds as they watch each other in the dim glow from under the door. Linda looks both fragile and steel lined in the bluish light and Jody is enraptured by the curve of her cheek and the glint in her eyes. She’s moving before she tells her body anything, closer and closer, and Linda’s smirking and leaning in as well and then their lips touch, pressing together in a soft brush that just melts them together. Jody’s eyes drift shut as a hand wraps around the back of her neck, pulling her closer, and her fingers find themselves pressed behind Linda’s waist and brushing the sliver of skin exposed between her pants and the hem of her shirt.

Linda turns somehow and suddenly they’re both lying down side by side on the cold concrete, lips still sliding over each other as Linda tilts her head just enough to pull Jody in closer. Jody pulls a hand up, running a finger along that cheek she’d been caught by earlier, and pulls away, feeling her cheeks flush.

Linda’s eyes meet hers in a questioning gaze and Jody smiles, lips feeling swollen and wet and aching a little in the cold, dry air. Linda grins back, and props herself up on an elbow. “This isn’t what I expected when I told Dean we were coming,” she says, reaching out to tuck a strand of Jody’s hair behind her ear. 

“Neither was I,” Jody admits. It’s been a long time since she kissed a woman, but the feeling’s the same. “I’m not complaining, though.”

Linda pulls her close again, their bodies pressing together from lips to knees, and begins kissing down Jody’s neck, unbuttoning her shirt as she goes.

 _Definitely not what I expected,_ thinks Jody as she slides her hands up Linda’s back and under her loose shirt. _But maybe what I needed._ She gasps as Linda’s deft hands undo her bra and a warm pair of lips close around her nipple, blocking it from the cool air. Her hand slides almost without her permission to cup the swell of Linda’s ass through her jeans, and she amends the thought. _Definitely what I want._ She squeezed lightly and was rewarded with a low groan from Linda. _The party’s almost over, anyway. No one’s going to mind if we miss the rest._


End file.
